I'm a 69-year-old startup founder and former PayPal and Intuit CEO. I bike to work, take midday naps in my closet, and use index cards to stay organized.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Bill Harris, the 69-year-old startup founder of Evergreen Wealth and former CEO of PayPal and Intuit, based in Miami. It's been edited for length and clarity.

I'm the founder and CEO of Evergreen Wealth, an RIA registered investment advisory. We provide our largely high-net-worth clients with investment management and financial advice, using AI to enhance our services.

I spent a decade in media in New York and then a decade in corporate fintech in California, where I served as the CEO of PayPal and Intuit (now TurboTax).

Then, I spent a 25-year stint in fintech startups, with seven successes and two failures, all of which ultimately led to Evergreen Wealth in 2023.

Simplicity has become one of the most important things to me. When I was married and raising kids in Silicon Valley, my days were a jumble of competing obligations. Now, I live alone in a 1,200-square-foot cottage in Miami Beach with no car. The simplicity of not having anything else that commands my attention is remarkably liberating.

Though I'm 69, I haven't retired because this remains the most engaging thing I do. If and when I retire, I plan to attend the University of Cambridge as a student.

Here's what a day in my life is like.

I wake up naturally around 6 or 6:30 a.m.

I wake up when my body is ready, typically around 6 or 6:30. It might be five or 10 minutes before I hop out of bed and check email quickly to see if there's anything hot.

If not, I stay off the machine unless I've got something on deadline. I get dressed, check the tires on my bike, and organize my belongings. While I'm doing those somewhat mindless tasks, I let myself think.

Something happens first thing in the morning, where all the unraveled pieces of information from the night before feel ready to be integrated. It's a remarkably productive period of time for me to find clarity, think broadly, and process.

I don't eat breakfast, and I don't shower at home, because I bike 30 minutes to work and have a shower at my office.

I ride my bike to the office around 7:30 or 8 a.m. and don't structure my day

I hit the office around 7:30 or 8 a.m. Before the pandemic, we had over 20 people in the office; now, most of our staff work from home or are hybrid. Unless I'm out of town, I go to the office every day.

After taking a shower, I switch gears from undisciplined thoughts to the highest-priority task of the day, whether that's creating a presentation, building a spreadsheet, or simply writing.

Meetings commence at 9:30 a.m.

I'm not the type to be super regimented, and I'm not very good at time management. I run a whole lot more on enthusiasm than discipline.

I keep track of everything throughout the day by using index cards. I scribble down words, little pictures, reminders, charts, or whatever else I need to remember. It's a fast and flexible way for me to stay organized.

I take midday naps in a sleep pod

My enthusiasm keeps me going most of the time, but it's not infrequent that, in the afternoon, I start dragging. I feel it physically, as if magnets are pulling me down.

If I can, I'll take a nap in the cot I've set up in my closet. Sometimes I look for a hole in the schedule, or I just cancel things. I let my body take control and don't set an alarm.

Everyone knows I nap. I used to stick a Post-it on the closed door, saying "The old man is sleeping."

My naps typically last 30-60 minutes, and I wake up completely revived

My naps bring back that energy and enthusiasm that drives me.

I don't consume caffeine. I have the willingness to let my body tell me when it's ready to rest. Occasionally, I'll miss something during a nap and think, "Oh my, that's embarrassing," but I don't have a fear of missing something important.

Lunch is my first meal of the day, often soup, because it's just so easy and convenient. I almost exclusively drink carbonated water from my SodaStream, and I drink from glass bottles to avoid microplastics.

I wrap up work around 8 or 9 p.m. and bike home

The first thing I do when I get home is prepare some food, which involves less cooking and more chopping and combining ingredients. I've actually never even opened my oven before.

My favorite foods are eggs, avocados, salmon, legumes, and a variety of fruits and vegetables. I try to avoid eating processed foods.

I don't own a TV or use social media, but I spend too much time on YouTube. I enjoy watching videos while I eat dinner.

I watch content from Peter Zeihan for geopolitics, Tim Miller for politics, Sam Harris for philosophy (sort of), Sabine Hossenfelder for physics, Lex Friedman for science and AI, and Josh Johnson for fun.

If I have some time, I might also read.

My evenings end by wrapping up unfinished work around 10 p.m.

If I still have energy, I'll dedicate another hour or two to work. I also review my index cards from the day, and if there's anything still unfinished or important enough to track, I add it to my task list, which is an Excel sheet I've had for years. There must be over 10,000 entries by now.

Having such a big list isn't terrifying; it's reassuring. What terrifies me is losing track of something. If everything gets logged, I have the satisfaction of knowing that I didn't forget about it; it's just not at the top of my priority list.

Then I'll get into bed, and the last thing I do before I go to sleep is put on an eye mask so I don't wake up to the morning light if it's before my body is ready.

My weekends are for dancing and good food

On weekends, I try to eat well and go out to places where the food is excellent. Like the weekdays, I ride my bike for at least an hour each day.

I also enjoy going out dancing to live music. It could be jazz, deep house, rock, or pop. I just love the feeling of being in a live music session with other people and everybody moving. I love rhythmic motion.